Sometimes Ugly Ducklings become Swans
by hayj
Summary: "The children of tomorrow have a different view on their eerie world." This is an addition to Jhalya's series "Sanctuary" which is a continuation of my story "Only fools...", PB/Pred 2010 AU
1. Chapter 1

_*For you Buttercup. I don't think it's what you wanted but after our Isabelle discussion and rereading Sanctuary this is what came to me.*_

**_Sometimes Ugly Ducklings become Swans_**

The last few stars were fading from the sky, the dew still heavy on the thick jungle grass when her mother woke her. Using only hand signals, they communicated in the early morning dawn. Stepping outside, Isabelle waited for her daughter to dress. Royce smiled from the shadows. A sickly baby they didn't think would survive her first day, his youngest was the most like her mother. Thin and willowy, deadly silent when she wanted to be and an aim like he'd never seen. Had they been on Earth he had no doubt she would have followed in their footsteps, a killer of man instead of beast. Checking in on his other two children, he shuffled back to bed determined to get a few more hours sleep.

Arianna appeared silently beside her mother in the morning mist, rifle slung over her shoulder. Isabelle smiled with a nod and they headed out into the jungle. "Why are we hunting?"

"Destiny's birthday is next week. We'll need the extra meat." Her mother answered quietly. Arianna nodded in understanding. The first baby born in Sanctuary, Destiny's birthday was always a monstrous overkill in Arianna's opinion. You'd think she'd been the only one born on this backwoods planet. It was a huge family reunion held at either Aunt Carolyn's house or theirs, the two being more centrally located to all her Aunts and Uncles. At least she wouldn't be expected to babysit this year. Uncle Jason and Aunt Nicki's youngest had turned 5 just a few weeks ago. Old enough to start weapons training.

They walked in silence for a while before Isabelle looked over at her. "So, wanna tell me what happened last night?"

"What do you mean?" Arianna asked looking at her mother with her most doe eyed expression.

"Cut the crap," Isabelle demanded of her youngest daughter whose mouth quirked up at the corner.

"It all depends on how much you saw or heard." Arianna answered watching her mother's face closely.

"You and Marcus were getting awfully chummy. A little to handsie for your dad."

Arianna gasped. "You were watching us?"

"We might have been watching out the kitchen window."

Red made its way up Arianna's chest to her cheeks. "We?" she managed to choke out.

"Um hm." Isabelle hummed watching as her youngest tilted her head back blowing out a breath. Isabelle attempted to hide her smile as her daughter composed herself. She admired the passion in which Arianna felt everything. It had taken Isabelle coming to a planet and being hunted to finally let down her guard and let her emotions come out and she had become a better person for it. But however passionate her youngest was, she wasn't nearly confident enough in herself. Isabelle knew the other children teased her about her tiny stature and assumed because she was a sickly baby that she had become a sickly teenager which simply wasn't the case. And as much as she loved them, growing up with Zoey Riddick and having Carrie for a sister were not points in Ari's favor. She had always compared herself to someone else instead of recognizing her own talents.

"So, you were saying?" Isabelle prompted her youngest again.

"Big Ramona's a bitch." Ari said bluntly causing her mother's mouth to fall open.

"Arianna Nicole Royce!" her mother chastised in her accented speech. "Language!"

She watched as her daughter's forehead wrinkled and her mouth took on a frown. "She was badmouthing the Riddick kids."

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "And this is new?"

Ari had to restrain herself from stomping her foot like a child. "It was just mean! And Carrie barely tried to take up for them. She knows that Marcus likes her."

Ahh. Isabelle wondered when they'd get to the heart of it. "And does she like Marcus?"

"Don't know," Ari shrugged avoiding an especially poisonous plant as they continued to walk. "But she says he scares her and I don't get it, Mom. Marcus is so kind. He'd never hurt any of us."

Isabelle's heart fractured just a tiny bit listening to the emotion in her daughter's voice. She would tow a heavy load if that was the road she chose to travel. She had watched Carolyn travel down the same one.

"Marcus is very kind and caring," she agreed wondering how she was going to explain this to Royce. "You two were looking pretty chummy when you came in without your sister. Anything I need to know about?"

"There was a fence stalker out last night. Pretty sure he was after more than livestock. Broke some of the lights and killed Varro's cat. Had his lights on me at one point."

"Dios maldito hijo de puta" came flying out of her mother's mouth as she rounded on Ari.

"That's why he was all over me. He was making himself the target."

"But that's not all is it?" her mother asked smoothing a lank piece of her hair behind her ear.

Ari clenched her jaw trying not to cry from the remembered humiliation of it all. "No. I found out that he heard me telling Big Ramona off and I kinda went off on him."

"Well," her mother sighed, "If his actions the rest of the night are any indication, he got over it pretty fast."

Ari leaned into her mother's hand. "Yeah, he did, didn't he?" she replied with shy smile.

"Why don't we talk to Aunt Carrie about making you a new dress for the party? And maybe we can figure out something to do with this hair."

This is why Arianna loved her mother. "Thanks, Mom."

* * *

Arianna sighted in her rifle and slowed down her breathing, her finger resting gently on the trigger. Her Mother was laying silently in the brush beside her. They had been tracking a herd of deer like creatures for a few hours and finally had them in their sights. Using a series of hand gestures, a shorthand the adults in her life had developed long before she was born, the two women determined which animal she would single out. Pulling the trigger she kept her eye on her target until she saw the animal fall, frightening the rest of the herd into bolting.

"Buena niña empleo," Isabelle said getting to her feet. "You're getting better and better. Already better than your Dad."

Arianna laughed. "Don't let him hear you say that."

Isabelle ruffled her daughter's hair as they walked down to her kill.

The sound of clicking mandibles made the hair on Isabelle's neck prickle as she brought her rifle up, handing Ari a hand gun. Standing back to back they made a tight circle, Isabelle cursing a blue streak as Bob appeared in front of them.

"Good shot, better than your mother," the beady eyed creäture said through the use of his recordings. Ari snorted as she handed the gun back to her mother and dropped to her knees digging her knife into the animals neck as Isabelle continued to rail at Bob for nearly giving her a heart attack, the predators mandibles clicking menacingly in return as she used her more colorful language.

"I carry," he told the women pointing at the animal carcass laying on the ground.

"Thank you, Bob," Ari said as she touched his arm, causing him to bend his head and purr. While there was no mistaking that Zoey was his favorite, both Royce girls had spent their fair share of time being cared for by the beast.

By the time they made it back to the main road the sun was high overhead and Ari's stomach was growling. "Think Aunt Carrie has any left-over noodles?"

"Maybe. We can stop on our way home."

* * *

Marcus was in the yard chopping firewood for his mother's stove when he saw them coming down the road. Slipping his shirt back on, he met them at the gate, holding it open for them. "Nice kill." He told Isabelle as he inspected the animal thrown over Bob's shoulder.

"Not mine," she smiled as she patted Arianna on the back, before heading towards the house, the sound of Carolyn's off-key singing drifting out through the windows.

"Very nice!" he said wrapping an arm around her neck as he drug her towards the house. "How about after lunch we get it strung up and I'll teach you how to butcher it?"

Ari smiled. Someone like Carrie or Big Ramona would be outraged at the offer considering it an insult, but after spending the morning with her mother, she recognized it for the opportunity that it was.

"That would be great," she said as he let her enter the house ahead of him.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Another one shot from the world of Sanctuary. This one goes hand in hand with Jhalya's Story "Preserve the Game" My many thanks to her for expanding this world. (Hopefully this doesn't screw with the ages to badly)**_

**Love is tough. Times are rough**.

Mason Royce was three years old when his youngest sister was born.

He can still remember his mother's stoic face and his father's angry pacing outside before his Uncle's drug him away from the house, returning him a few hours later looking like they had all been in a bloody brawl.

He remembers in vivid detail his Aunt's hovering over Ari with their predator supplied medical hologram and box of herbs, dragging her outside, demanding that Bob help them save her, knowing that Bob would do anything for Carolyn, the bond between them unshakable to this day.

The relief that slowly flooded through the house when she was still breathing after a day, a week, a month.

He remembers standing by her crib, watching her while she slept, wishing he could do something, anything, to make her better.

From then on he was constantly under Carolyn's feet as she tended to the ailments of their extended family while tending after her own rambunctious crew. When Carolyn realized that the boy wasn't going anywhere she started utilizing him. By the time he was six he could identify every herb, its healing properties and where to find it in Sanctuary. By the age of eight he could sew stitches prettier than his Aunt Rachel's.

He can still remember the morning after his fifth birthday when he wanted nothing more than to go with his Aunt on her rounds, but it wasn't to be. He was to start weapons training that morning. He can still see his mother bending down in front of him, tying his shoes saying, "Remember where we live, mi hijo, it's just as important to know how to kill as it is to heal." He stayed silent, simply nodding his head, as her brown eyes seemed to bore into his soul.

* * *

This particular morning found him sitting outside the house in the rapidly diminishing coolness, going through his med kit. He heard his Father come out the kitchen door, the scent of what passed for coffee on the air.

Royce laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Morning, Mace"

"Morning, Dad."

"Where you off to today?"

"Out to Willie's. Got a lame horse he wants put down."

Royce snorted. "Well guess we'll see about that won't we? Coffee's ready, by the way." Turning to go in the house Royce stopped, turning back. "I'm real proud you of son."

Mace smiled at his father, "Thanks, Dad."

Royce nodded before stepping in the house and Mace could hear his mother's soft voice greeting him.


	3. Chapter 3

**And of all the futures she could have, she didn't want a single one that didn't have him in it.**

**Authors very long note: **_Buttercup, Buttercup, wherefore art thou, Buttercup? So, It's only taken me two months to finish this. I honest to gods started it the day we talked. But better late than never right? And I'm sure that it's wildly OCC as I didn't go back and re-read anything to refresh my muse. I'm not entirely happy with title either. *sigh* Here's your Marcus and Ari loving (It's cannon now, Riddick gave his seal of approval) with a dash of parents thrown in for good measure. *miss you bunches, mwah*_

The night was unseasonably cool if you pretended that Sanctuary actually had seasons. More tropical rain forest than anything, it's a sticky, oppressive heat that colors their world on a daily basis.

Tired of tossing and turning in her bed, Arianna Royce decided the hell with it all. Dressing quickly and quietly, she grabs the bag at the end of her bed, tucking a handgun into her leather belt.

Carrie is spending the night with friends and Mason is tending to a pregnant mare, leaving just her and her parents in the house.

Having grown up in this house, watching her older siblings get caught sneaking out, she knows which floorboards to avoid and which door to exit and instead of opening the squeaky back gate, climbs it.

She has to cross both her family's property and the Riddick's to reach the river and who knows what's going on over there tonight, but the thought of taking a bath in the river is too tempting.

Worst case scenario, she runs into Uncle Riddick, who'll send her home with her tail between her legs, and then tell her Dad, who'll tell her Mom, and then she'll be grounded or worse.

She sighs loudly, her shoulders moving with it, when she runs into someone, or something. Drawing in a breath to scream, a large hand clamps down on her mouth and two glowing orbs appear in front of her.

"Marcus, te saco de mierda lo siento ! Qué demonios! ¿Estás tratando de asustarme a muerte ?" she hisses, breaking into the language that she's picked up from hanging around the Vargas clan a bit too much, slapping against his muscular chest.

"Do you kiss your Mother with that mouth?" He hums next to her ear, holding tight to her captured wrists.

"What are you doing out here anyway?" she asks ignoring the way that his breath causes her skin to break out in goosebumps.

He laughs, throwing his head back and his arms out and she nearly expects him to howl at the moons in the sky, and if she hadn't grown up with him, hadn't been in love with him longer than she could remember; it probably would have scared the living hell out of her.

Tilting his head back towards her, he reaches out to stroke her cheek, moving so that they're chest to chest, his voice low, "They think they've won, but they haven't. This is our world now. It belongs to people like you and me and Zoey. We're the ones that are going to survive, and one day, we'll make them pay."

A shudder moves through her as his hand slides along her cheek, down her throat and traces the neckline of her dress down to her cleavage. "Where were you going?"

"Down to the river to bathe."

He takes his eyes off of her for a moment looking at their surroundings. "It's cool tonight. Cooler than usual."

"I know," she replies never taking her eyes from his face.

He suddenly takes her by the hand, tugging her along behind him. "Come with me."

"Marcus, please don't make me go home."

She crashes into his back when he unexpectedly stops, turning back to her, roughly grasping the side of her face. "Neither of us is going home tonight."

She gasps as a bolt of electricity shoots straight from his hand to her core.

He sniffs the air as he watches her, his lids now at half-mast. "Stay close," he murmurs leading her into the jungle.

He holds her hand as the jungle growth causes the night to turn almost pitch-black in some places.

Ari thinks they've been walking close to an hour when they emerge from the dense underbrush into an area surrounded by tall cliffs, riddled with caves, but what catches her eye is the water. Pools and pools of water.

"What is this place?" she asks quietly not wanting to break the feeling of peace that surrounds them.

Marcus shrugs. "Don't know. I've only been here a few times. From what I can tell the First Settlers are the only ones that know about it."

The First Settlers. Their parents and Aunts and Uncles.

"I've never heard any of them talk about it."

"I think something must have happened here in the early days before we were born. I know my mom only comes here when she's upset. Varro and Chloe sometimes come when Chloe seems a little more off than usual."

Ari listens to him talk as he pulls her along, taking in the beauty of the place. It's almost like a completely different world.

He stops in front of a cave where the remnants of an earlier fire remain. "I'll get a fire going. You can drop your things inside, we're safe here, they don't like feeling trapped." He says with a tilt of his head scanning the cliff tops.

Ducking into the cave, Ari notices the bedding spread out over the floor as she toes off her shoes, setting her belt and gun to the side. Reaching into her pack she grabs her tiny bar of soap and bottle of shampoo.

Marcus is still fiddling with the fire when she emerges. "Go on. I think you'll like it."

She flashes a smile and makes her way to the nearest pool of water. Peaking over at Marcus who's focused on the fire, she sets her things down near the edge and pulls her dress off over her head, gasping as she lowers her body into the water. It's warm. Almost hot. She's never heard of anything like a hot spring before. She laughs in delight and doesn't see the smile that crosses Marcus' face.

He watches as she sheds her dress from her lithe body and the surprise that lights her face at the warmth of the water. He's been thinking about bringing her here for a while.

_Interestingly enough, it was his father that was the catalyst. Everyone was gathered at the Royce's for Ari's eighteenth birthday and Marcus had set to the side with Mace talking, when his father had approached asking Mace if he could interrupt and the boy quickly vacated._

_It wasn't that the children of the first settler clan were afraid of Riddick. They had just all grown up knowing that listening to their adults could mean the difference between life and death._

_His father had sat quietly, sipping on his drink when he finally nodded towards Ari. "She reminds me a lot of your Mother."_

"_Ari?" Marcus asked looking in the direction his father was._

_Riddick nodded. "Quiet and unassuming, but with a spine like a steel rod. Feisty, too. I like that." He said with a wolfish grin looking over at his wife. "Not only will she give you a run for your money, she'll also be the one that stays by your side, come hell or, well, hell." He says with a sweep of his arm before standing and making his way to his wife's side. Marcus watches as his mother looks up at his father, her love for him written across her face. He looks back at Ari, catching her eye and likes that she doesn't shy away from it._

Once he has a good fire going, he makes his way to the pool she's claimed as her own. He can smell her shampoo and soap on the air.

She smiles, but remains quiet, watching to see what he'll do and isn't in the least surprised when he begins to strip. She keeps her eyes on his face until he finishes and then lets her eyes run over his body with a lick of her lips. She's seen him shirtless countless times, but never without pants.

As he eases himself into the hot water, Ari makes her way to him; the water lapping up against her breasts, as this time it's her that places them chest to chest. She reaches up, running her hand over his cropped hair, down and around to scratch at his matching beard.

He bends down to press kisses along the column of her throat.

She makes soft mewling noises as his tongue lathes at her neck and ear, capturing his cock's attention and he's not willing to waste any more time.

Hauling them both out of the water towards the cave, he's surprised, yet not, when she's the one pushing him down on the bedding, straddling his hips as she leans forward to taste his mouth.

He lets her control the pace, keeping his hands locked on her hips, his thumbs resting in the crease of her thighs, the tips brushing her dark thatch of hair. As her tongue explores his mouth, she's sliding the wet folds of her pussy along his shaft coating it with her sticky fluids.

When he thinks he can't take anymore, he slides a hand up her back, rolling them over, partly covering her body with his. Her damp hair spreads out like a dark cloud around her head. She's panting by the time his mouth begins to suckle on a dark hued nipple and he grins at the gasp he elicits from her as he slides a thick, calloused finger into her slick passage.

Ari moans her pleasure as her hips buck up against his hands. Slipping in yet another finger, he uses his thumb to rub at her clit as his fingers continue to prepare her. She's not a virgin, they both know that, but he also knows he's much larger than the other boys she's been with and the last thing he wants is to hurt her.

He finds her lips, swallowing the little sounds she's making that he finds so attractive, pulling away to suck in a breath of his own when her petite hand reaches down to grip his hardened cock, sliding up and down the silky skin.

"Marcus," she pleads not caring how it sounds as long as he'll give her what she needs, which is all of him. "Marcus, please," she tries again reaching out to grip the back of his neck.

Slipping into the cradle of her thighs, using one arm to keep his weight off of her, he takes himself in hand, slicking his cock at her entrance before slowing pushing in.

She sucks a breathe in through her teeth as her back arches towards him, her pussy stretching to accommodate his girth. "Oh, fuck, Marcus."

When he's finally buried completely in her depths, his forehead drops to hers, sweat dripping from his brow as he holds himself in check. 'Are you okay, Novio?"

"Perfect." she breathes pulling his mouth down to hers as she moves her hips.

Marcus takes the hint, pulling out before sliding back in, groaning as her swollen passage grips his cock like it was made just for him. Pulling her leg up higher on his hip to give him even deeper access, he looks down at the woman beneath him, his breath taken away by the look on her face.

He finds her mouth again and with licks and nips and marking of skin, tells her how beautiful he thinks that she is, his chest bursting with satisfaction when she comes in his arms, clinging to him as she cries out his name.

He brushes her hair out of her face, making her meet his eyes, as he slams in and out of her roughly, chasing his own orgasm when she tilts her head back baring her neck to him.

"Gods, Marcus, you're going to make me come again," She wails clutching at his arms.

Latching on to the spot between her shoulder and neck, he digs his teeth into her skin till he draws blood which pushes them both over the edge. As he's marking his territory it never occurs to him to pull out until he's emptied himself dry inside of her.

"Ari..." he stammers once he's caught his breath and rolled them over so she's draped across him.

She places her fingers against his lips silencing him, "Don't worry about it. We'll find the plants that I need on the way home."

"But still," he says roughly holding her tighter. "I should have been more careful, more responsible."

Ari pushes away from him gathering her things. "You're not Mace, Marcus. It's not your responsibility to look at after me like I'm some child." she huffs feeling the subject of their topic seeping down her inner thigh.

With a sigh of frustration, he kicks out his leg, knocking her off her feet, catching her as she falls to the ground, rolling and tucking her underneath him.

"Not like a child," he says gruffly nosing at her jaw so that he can lick at the wound he's made. "Like a mate."

* * *

Marcus guides them home in the predawn hours, helping Ari find the herbs that she needs and making a mental note to gather more. They're not allowed to have any type of foreign birth control in Sanctuary but they've never been stopped from using those plants which provide it naturally.

They can see the Riddick compound from almost a mile away it's so lit up in this darkest hour before the dawn.

"Shit," Ari breathes, causing Marcus to squeeze the hand that he's been holding and smile down at her. "I'm sorry, I'm just not looking forward to dealing with our Dad's."

"I think you might be surprised," he whispers near her ear making her shiver in a delightful way.

Emerging from the dense forest directly in front of Marcus' home they come to a stop. "This is your last chance, Ari. Tell me now if you don't want this and I'll walk away.'

Turning to face him, Ari places her hand over his heart. "How many ways do I have to show you that I want you?" she asks softly, reaching up on tiptoes to run her lips across the seam of his mouth. "I want you. Us. Together, Marcus"

He kisses her softly. "That's all I need to hear."

"Just remember that when we walk into the Lions Den." she smirks.

They walk through Carolyn and Riddick's front gate like any other day.

Their mothers are sitting in chairs near the front porch, blankets over their laps as they drink coffee, looking not only like cats that ate the canary and shared it's bones, but had a dish of cream afterwards for desert.

Their fathers, or least Ari's father is looking a bit harassed as he sits next to Riddick in one of the chairs at the family's outdoor table.

"Everything, Okay?" Marcus asks his dad glancing over at his uncle and then to his mother and aunt.

"Everything's fine." Riddick answers as he sniffs the air.

"Arianna forgot to let her parents know that you were taking her to the pools tonight and while they were justifiably upset, your Mom and I reassured them she would be safe as a bug in a rug," Riddick explains with a smirk towards Ari who has suddenly found the ground incredibly interesting.

"Sorry about that, Uncle Royce. It won't be a problem in the future." Marcus tells him sincerely. "We're going to grab a couple of hours of sleep. Night everyone."

Ari shuffles towards her father, kissing him on the cheek. "Sorry, Daddy. Love you."

"Love you, too, baby." Royce says with a sigh pulling her into a hug, knowing that what his wife and two oldest friends have told him is true and there really isn't any sense fussing about it.

"No hug for me?" Riddick asks the girl he's considered his niece since the day she was born and who in the span of a few hours has become his first daughter-in-law. He mentally shakes his head at the thought.

Ari places a kiss on his cheek but instead of pulling her into a hug, he wraps his hand around her shoulder, his thumb digging into the bite mark at the base of her neck.

Ari grasps his wrist, digging her thumb in just the right way to make his hand start going numb, looking him right in the eye with the lift of a brow.

He responds with a booming laugh and a nod of his head. "Welcome to the family."

She grins at him like a fool before taking the hand of the man she's been waiting for her entire life.


End file.
